"And with this, it's done!" Tsunade stores the last piece of Kraken's body in a storage scroll.
"Even its blood has research value, so we have to store it separately and preserve it with Fuinjutsu seals."
"Umm… Lady Hokage, Lady Mizukage… there is a slight problem!" The captain has a troubled face.
"What's the matter, captain?" Tsunade asks him.
"Our compass has malfunctioned after the previous thunderstorm and we don't have a spare one. So, it's extremely hard to navigate in this sea with no land in sight."
"That's a problem!" Minato also frowns.
"I can teleport everyone back to the port in the Land of the Waterfall since I left a mark there, but that won't solve the issue of the Kage Summit."
"Is there really no other way?" Mei asks the captain.
"I am afraid not!" The captain shakes his head.
"So, what should we do in such a situation?" Tsunade ponders.
"If we could scout any island somewhere, then we can think of a way!" Kakashi suggests.
"Hmm… Kakashi is right! At least with the land, we will have a foothold in the sea and there won't be a danger of waves toppling us up."
"Leave the scouting to me!" Sasuke walks out of his room.
He has recovered most of his chakra after a long sleep.
"I have Garuda, so it will be easy for me to scout the surroundings."
"Very well!" Minato agrees with him.
Swish… swish…
"Summoning Jutsu,"
Sasuke summons Garuda and hops on top of it.
"I will be back after an hour!"
Whoosh…
Garuda opens its wings and with a flap, it flies into the sky and disappears from everyone's vision.
"Let's hope Sasuke succeeds and discovers a nearby island with people." Kakashi hopefully stares at the trails of clouds in the sky.
---------------------
Half an hour later, in the sky of the Polar Sea.
'Hmm… I am pretty far from everyone and yet there is no land in sight. Should I return and report?'
"Yes, there seems to be no point in this mindless search. I will return and report the situation."
Sasuke signals Garuda to turn back.
Suddenly,
Bzzt… Boom…
A bolt of lightning strikes his previous position.
"Huh?!"
Sasuke stares at the sky in confusion.
'There are no clouds in the sky, so how?'
Shiing…
He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and takes a look around to spot the enemy.
Crackle… crackle… Bzzt…
A few hundred meters ahead, he spots a transparent barrier with his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Garuda, turn around!"
Scree…
Garuda flies closer to the semi-transparent barrier wall.
Hmm…
Sasuke inspects the barrier and frowns.
"There is something weird about this place! Why does it feel like there is an entirely different world on the other side of this wall? Should I attempt to cross it?" Such thoughts appear in Sasuke's mind.
He subconsciously stretches his hand towards the barrier in an attempt to cross it.
"Wait, this doesn't seem to be a good idea. I will take a page from Naruto's book."
Sasuke makes some hand signs.
"Shadow clone jutsu!" He makes a shadow clone and signals it to cross the barrier.
Whoosh…
The clone leaps from the top of Garuda and disappears into the barrier.
"Ah!"
Sasuke frowns as he stares at the barrier.
"I lost connection with my shadow clone. I will wait for a few seconds. If the clone didn't return, then I will retreat."
Five minutes later,
Whoosh…
Sasuke's clone walks out of the barrier. Sasuke dispels the clone and regains its memories.
"I see! So, that's the situation behind the barrier. I will report it to Hokage-sama."
He gently pats Garuda's head.
"Let's go back!"
-----------------
Back at the ship,
"Hmm… it has been over an hour. Sasuke-kun has yet to return." Sakura fidgets around in worry.
"Don't worry, Sasuke will be back soon. Besides, he also has Dad's mark on him. If anything happens, then Dad can just teleport next to him and bring him back." Naruto assures her.
"But still…"
Scree…
Cries of Garuda echoes on the board.
"Oh, he is back. Look, you were worried for nothing!"
Swoosh…
Sasuke leaps from Garuda's back and lands on the ship.
"Sasuke, what's the situation?" Minato inquires.
"Lord Fourth, while looking for the land, I discovered something else. I can't describe it in words, but it will be better if you watch it with your own eyes."
"Oh!" Minato raises an eyebrow.
"What kind of secret did you discover?" Tsunade asks him.
Sasuke explains the details to them.
"So, you are saying that there is a barrier in the Polar Sea and it separates the world into two different places. When your shadow clone crossed over to the other side; you lost contact with it. That's a lot to take in!" Kakashi and the rest listen to this tale with incredulous expressions.
"No, I think I understand what kind of place Sasuke is talking about?" Minato ponders for a while.
"Perhaps it's the secret passage to that place!" Tsunade also agrees with him.
"Let's go and confirm it!" She signals to Sasuke.
"What kind of place are you both talking about?" Naruto and the rest are unable to hold their curiosity.
"There is so much to explain, but I will relay it in a few words. Basically, Sasuke discovered the passage to the other side of the world."
"Other side of the world?" Everyone's confusion deepens even further.
"Yes, the other side!" Minato nods at them.
"This place, the shinobi world, it's a gigantic sphere of rock with two equal sides. The shinobi world lies on one side and the other side of the world is a place filled with unknown dangers. That place has a name, the other faceless side of the shinobi world, World of Redaku!"
"Redaku?! This is the first time I heard of such a place." Everyone stares at Tsunade and Minato with curiosity.
"Actually, Redaku is not all that big. It's a small country located on a continent in the other hemisphere of this giant planet. There are several scattered islands around the mainland.
The key feature of Redaku is that the entire continent on which it's located is a gigantic mountain range and thus Redaku is a small country isolated from the rest of the world. The rest of the hemisphere is filled with the sea and smaller islands. There are multiple dangerous creatures living in the sea and the sea monsters the Nine-tails mentioned mostly live in that place.
I am unsure of the details, but a few millennia years ago, an era much before the Sage of Six Paths; a major incident separated Redaku from the rest of the world. It's said that a benevolent God died in that place. In the final moments, God erected a barrier to lock the dangerous creature on the other side of the world. As such, that place serves as a prison for those creatures.
Also, there is no concept of chakra in that place. I didn't have any opportunity to visit that place, but Izuna did visit that place from time to time and I heard all of these tales from him." Minato ends his explanation.
"Similar to Minato, I never had an opportunity to visit Redaku since only a handful of people in the world know the secret path to that place. However, there are few records about that place in the library of the Senju and Uzumaki clans. One of our ancestors visited that place and wrote a description of it.
Redaku is a distant paradise with a touch of harsh reality! I am not sure what those words mean." Tsunade shakes her head.
"Let's take a look at the place. Perhaps we might get some clues and direction from the people at that place." Minato suggests.
"Yes, Lord Fourth!"
Sasuke hops on Garuda's back and keeps his pace with the ship.
One and a half hours later, the group arrive in front of the transparent barrier.
Hmm…
Minato curiously inspects the barrier for a while.
"It's a large range barrier surrounding almost all the planet. I have never seen such a powerful barrier in my life. The runes on this barrier are quite special and innovative. I even lack the knowledge to comprehend most of them.
Still, this place is pretty much a prison for its inhabitants. The people of Redaku are surrounded by multiple sea creatures and the sea creature can't break through this barrier and escape into the sea.
Also, this barrier causes hypnosis and hallucinations. Only someone with a perfect mastery of Sage Art can pass through this place since a Sage's trained body will unconsciously eject this strange energy."
Minato points towards a wisp of semi-transparent energy.
"For now, let's step into the Land of Redaku and ask for directions to the Land of Iron."
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A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, 'The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World' is out.
Also, check out my pat reon www.pa treon.com/ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at the latest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both series combined in advance.